Novelty item

ABSTRACT

A noisemaking device having a body ( 11 ), a top aperture ( 21 ); a bottom aperture ( 19 ); an internal noise module ( 18 ) comprising a reed ( 20 ). Noise module ( 18 ) has a cylindrical external wall ( 22 ) which is secured by the body ( 11 ) within an air passage ( 17 ). The noise module ( 18 ) is positioned along and gripped by a narrow region ( 14 ) of body ( 11 ) in a region proximate the bottom end ( 16 ) of body ( 11 ). There is an air-tight seal ( 25 ) between the external wall ( 22 ) of the noise module ( 18 ) and wall ( 15 ) of the body ( 11 ). An internal sound chamber ( 26 ) between the noise module ( 18 ) and the top aperture ( 21 ) amplifies the noise emitted by the noise module ( 18 ).

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the priority of provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 60/190,677, filed Mar. 22, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to toys and noveltyitems. More specifically, the invention is a hand-held device whose bodyhas the general shape of a piece of conventional athletic gear and whosebody is specially configured to provide an internal air passage with anoise-generating apparatus mounted therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is commonly known that spectators of live athletic events showtheir enthusiasm and convey their support to a team by making noise inthe stands, e.g., by stomping their feet, applauding, and shouting.Several stadiums are especially intimidating to visiting teams becausethe audience tends to be extremely loud and supportive of its home team.At tense moments in a game, this noise may be an important factor, sincea loud rumble from the fans has the effect of motivating the home teamwhile distracting the visiting team. However, when the number of fans issmall or when the spectators are unenthusiastic, the noise does not riseto a level sufficient to convey support and encourage the players. Forthis and other reasons, it would be advantageous to provide a devicethat could be used by spectators to make a lot of noise in the stands inorder to convey their support to a team.

[0004] In addition, spectators sometimes choose to show their support bywaving flashy signs and other paraphernalia bearing team logos and teamcolors. Thus it would be useful if the noise-making device were suitableto display team logos, team colors, and the like thereon, and if thedevice were physically attractive and appealing to sport fans. It isalso common for a fan of a sport to be an athlete who plays that sportrecreationally. Thus it would be advantageous if the device could beused to play or to simulate play of the sport itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention is a novelty device that has a body withthe shape of any of various types of conventional athletic gear, such asa baseball bat, football, etc. The body, usually slightly smaller thanits real-life counterpart, may be used to play or to simulate play ofthe sport for which it is intended. The body of the device is speciallyconfigured to provide an internal air passage suitable for mounting anoise-generating apparatus therein. A user may generate a whistle-likenoise by simply blowing into the air passage through an aperture in thebody. The noise-generating apparatus and the air passage areadvantageously internal to prevent them from otherwise interfering withthe use of the device as a piece of athletic gear. Promotional indiciasuch as team colors and logos may be displayed easily and prominently onthe body. The device may further be waved and tapped. In addition, thedevice amplifies one's voice when singing or speaking into an aperture.

[0006] The novelty device of the present invention has severaladvantageous features. It can be lightweight since it may be madelargely out of blow molded plastic components. It may be designed toresemble virtually any piece of athletic equipment. Its size and shapemay be varied. It may have a large surface for displaying team logos andthe like. It is versatile in that it may be used to show support andmake noise in a variety of ways without straining one's voice. It isdurable, for it generally has no moving parts. It is safe to use and isunlikely to cause injury to nearby spectators. It may be used to play orto simulate play of a sport. It has a shape that provides amusement andappeals to sport fans and athletes. It may be manufactured easily andeconomically.

[0007] The novelty device includes a body having an outer wall that isformed by blow molding or by a similar manufacturing process. The shapeof the outer wall may resemble virtually any piece of athletic gear,including balls, hockey sticks, bats, and other sports gear. In accordwith an important principle of the invention, the body is shaped toprovide an entrance aperture, an exit aperture, and an internal airpassage that extends between the apertures. Any of various types ofnoise modules, such as those including reeds and tongues, may be mountedinside the passage. Thus, when a user blows into the internal airpassage, the reed resonates and a loud and distinctive noise is emitted.The body may also be configured to have an integrated sound chamber forfurther amplifying the noise.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the presentinvention having an outer wall shaped to resemble a baseball bat.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a top view of the device of FIG. 1.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, taken alongline 4-4 in FIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an internal noise module of thedevice of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the noise module of FIG. 5,taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

[0014]FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the device ofFIG. 1, taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 2.

[0015]FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the device ofFIG. 1, taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 3.

[0016]FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the device ofthe present invention, having an outer wall with a spherical shape.

[0017]FIG. 10 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the device ofthe present invention, having an outer wall whose shape resembles afootball.

[0018]FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 9, taken alongline 11-11 in FIG. 9.

[0019]FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 10, taken alongline 12-12 in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the device of the present invention, referredto generally by reference numeral 10, replicates a baseball bat and hasa size and shape that allow it to be held easily by its user. Thehand-held device 10, or baseball bat, has a body 11, here comprising anouter wall 15. The outer wall 15 is preferably composed of plastic andformed by blow molding or by a similar manufacturing process. The outerwall 15 has an outer surface 5 that is well suited for decorating withteam logos, team colors, and the like. The device 10 has a narrow region14 (handle) for being gripped easily by a user. The device 10 has a topend 12 and bottom end 16. An internal air passage 17 within the body ofthe device 10 extends between the top and bottom ends. The bottom end 16has a bottom aperture 19, which provides an entrance to the internal airpassage 17. The top end 12 has a top aperture 21), which provides anexit therefrom.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the outer wall 15 of the body 11 is formedwith a top lip 9 at the top end 12. The top lip 9 surrounds the topaperture 21. The top aperture 21 provides the exit from the internal airpassage 17, which extends down from the top aperture to the bottomaperture along the length of the bat.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, the outer wall 15 of the body 11 has a bottomsurface 23 at the bottom end 16. The bottom surface 23 has the bottomaperture 19 therein. The bottom aperture 19 is an entrance to theinternal air passage 17.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the body 11 of the device is speciallyconfigured to grip an internal noise module 18 therein. The noise module18 has a generally cylindrical external wall 22 which is secured by thebat body 11 within the air passage 17. The noise module 18 is preferablypositioned along and gripped by the narrow region 14 (handle) of the batin a region proximate the bottom end 16 of the bat. An internal soundchamber 26 between the noise module and the top aperture (air exit)amplifies the noise emitted by the noise module.

[0024] There is a substantially air-tight seal 25 between the externalwall 22 of the module and the wall 15 of the bat body 11. An adhesivemay be applied between the inner surface of the wall 15 of the bat bodyand the cylindrical external wall 22 of the noise module 18 to fastenthe module more securely to the body. Alternately, the seal 25 may be afriction fit. In a preferred embodiment, the seal further comprises athin layer of flexible material mounted to the exterior of the externalwall 22 of the noise module in order to grip the wall 15 of the bat bodymore tightly and to hold the module more securely therein. Such a sealadvantageously forces all of the air blown into the bottom aperture 19to travel through the noise module 18 rather than avoid the module bytraveling outside the external wall 22 of the module.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, the noise module 18 has a substantiallycylindrical external wall 22 with an air entrance 23 and an air exit 25(not shown in FIG. 5 but shown in FIG. 6). The module generally has atleast two cylindrical regions 27, 28 with different cross sections aswell as a transitional section 29 between the two cylindrical regions27, 28. A flat internal tongue, or reed 20, extends longitudinallyinside the module.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 6, the inner end 30 of the reed 20 is attachedto a semi-circular inner wall 31 normal to the longitudinal axis of thenoise module. The outer end 32 of the cantilever-like reed 20 isfree-floating and is thus free to resonate upon the passage of airbeneath it. A small clearance 35 between the outer end 32 of the reedand a semi-circular outer wall 33 provides an opening through which airthat is blown into the air entrance 23, in the direction shown by thearrows, must travel. The air then passes through a rectangular aperture34 in a flat surface 36, which surface is parallel to the reed 20 andperpendicular to both the inner 31 and outer 33 walls. Thus therectangular aperture 34 provides a thruway through which air travels,meanwhile traveling along the reed 20 and causing the reed to vibrate.This vibration causes a distinctive whistle to resonate out of the noisemodule via the air exit 25 and to be amplified first by the largecylindrical region 28 of the module 18 and then by the sound chamber 26of the bat.

[0027] The device 10 may be used to make noise by simply covering thebottom aperture 19 with one's mouth and then blowing into the bottomaperture. Specifically, a user places his or her mouth on the bottomsurface 23 of the bat and blows into the bottom aperture 19. Because theinternal noise module 18 is uni-directional (it emits a whistle when airtravels through it in only one direction), blowing into the top aperture21 would not result in such a whistle.

[0028] Alternate types of noise modules may also be used. For example,as shown in FIG. 6′, the alternate noise module 90 has a center wheel 92which rotates when air is blown longitudinally through its housing 94,causing a loud whistle to be emitted from the module.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 7, a sectional view of a second embodiment ofthe baseball bat, the bat can have an elongated flexible cantilever arm40 attached at one end 42 to the inner surface of the bat body or to thenoise module. The flexible arm 40 is preferably composed of anappropriate material, such as plastic or rubber, to allow it to flexwhen the bat is shaken. The flexible arm has a protruding circular noiseelement 44 at its free end. Upon shaking the bat, regardless of thedirection in which it is shaken, the arm flexes. As the arm swings backand forth, the noise element repeatedly strikes the inner surface of thebat body to create a thumping noise. The sound chamber 26 amplifies thisnoise. Thus the flexible arm 40 provides an additional means forcreating noise and, in turn, supporting a team.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 8, a sectional view of a third embodiment of thebaseball bat, the bat can have an enclosed interior pocket 50 with driedbeans 52 or the like therein. Therefore, shaking the bat is like shakinga maraca, in that it creates a rattling noise. It is appreciated thatthe various noise-making apparati disclosed may be easily used inconjunction, since each may be easily positioned inside the bat at alocation where it does not interfere with the other apparati. Moreover,more than one noise module may be position in the internal passage, andeach noise module may include more than one reed.

[0031] Although the foregoing hand-held device in FIG. 1 resembles abaseball bat, this selection was made only for exemplary purposes andshould not be construed as a limiting factor of the invention. Instead,the shape of the present invention may resemble virtually any piece ofconventional athletic gear without affecting the sound-makingperformance of the device. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, thedevice may instead assume the shape of a variety of types of sportsequipment, such as a spherical ball 60 or football 70, respectively. Thespherical ball, for example, may in turn be designed to resemble abasketball, soccer ball, volleyball, etc. Although the shape and thusappearance of the body of the device may vary, the underlying principlesand configuration of the invention remain substantially the same, asshown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Namely, each of the spherical ball 60 andfootball 70 has an internal passage 17 with a noise module 18 thereinfor providing an amplified noise by blowing air therethrough. Similarly,the body of the device may also assume the shape and appearance of othertypes of athletic paraphernalia, such as a baseball, softball, tennisracket, tennis ball, racquetball, hockey stick, hockey puck, bowlingball, bowling pin, bicycle, golf club, golf ball, boxing glove, rugbyball, lacrosse stick, fencing sword, ski pole, etc. The body may alsoassume the shape of a race car, race horse, race dog, martial artsfigure, gymnastics figure, marathon running figure, swimming figure, orwrestling figure. The internal passage may also be used as a receptacleor container for packaged food such as pre-wrapped popcorn.

[0032] The body of the device 10 may not only assume a variety of shapesbut also have any of various structures. For example, as shown in FIG.8, the body can have a separate outer wall 15 and inner wall 80, whereinthe inner wall forms the internal air passage 17. Rather than having anoise-generating material therein, the region between the inner andouter walls can be filled with an appropriate material, such as foam, toprovide a rigid construction. In addition, instead of the thin-walledplastic shown, the body itself can be composed of thick foam core whichis shaped to provide an internal passage therethrough.

[0033] Although the preferred embodiments of the novelty item of thepresent invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, thosewho are skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications,additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the accompanyingclaims.

I claim:
 1. A novelty item for creating an amplified noise upon blowinginto the item, comprising: (a) a body having an entrance aperture, anexit aperture, and an internal air passage extending between theentrance aperture and the exit aperture; and (b) an internal noisemodule positioned inside the internal air passage, wherein the noisemodule causes the novelty item to emit a noise upon blowing air into theinternal air passage through the entrance aperture; wherein the body ofthe novelty item has the shape of a piece of conventional athletic gear.2. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the noise module has at leastone reed that vibrates upon blowing air into the internal air passagethrough the entrance aperture thus causing the novelty item to emit anoise.
 3. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the internal noise moduleis positioned midway between the entrance aperture and the exitaperture.
 4. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the internal noisemodule is positioned closer to the entrance aperture than to the exitaperture.
 5. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the internal airpassage comprises a sound chamber positioned between the noise moduleand the exit aperture.
 6. The novelty item of claim 5, wherein the soundchamber comprises a region of the internal air passage having anenlarged girth for amplifying a noise emitted from the noise module. 7.The novelty item of claim 4, wherein the internal air passage comprisesa sound chamber positioned between the noise module and the exitaperture.
 8. The novelty item of claim 7, wherein the sound chamberconsists of a region of the internal air passage having an enlargedgirth for amplifying a noise emitted from the noise module.
 9. Thenovelty item of claim 1, wherein the body of the novelty item has theshape of a baseball bat.
 10. The novelty item of claim 9, wherein thebaseball bat has a handle region, and the noise module is positionedinside the air passage proximate the handle region.
 11. The novelty itemof claim 10, wherein the baseball bat has a region having an enlargedgirth proximate its upper end, said region of enlarged girth providingan internal sound chamber for amplifying a noise emitted by the noisemodule.
 12. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the body of the noveltyitem has a spherical shape.
 13. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein thebody of the novelty item has the shape of a football.
 14. The noveltyitem of claim 1, wherein the body has an outer wall and an inner wall,and the internal noise module is connected to the inner wall.
 15. Thenovelty item of claim 14, wherein the outer and inner wall form anenclosed region therebetween, the enclosed region having rattlingelements therein.
 16. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the body hasa pocket having rattling elements therein.
 17. The novelty item of claim1 having a cantilever arm within the internal air passage, thecantilever arm having a protruding noise element at its free end.